by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
First or last
Language: English
If grief come early Joy comes late, If joy come early Grief will wait; Aye, my dear and tender! Wise ones joy them early While the cheeks are red, Banish grief till surly Time has dulled their dread. And joy being ours Ere youth has flown, The later hours May find us gone; Aye, my dear and tender!
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "First or last", appears in Late Lyrics and Earlier with Many Other Verses, first published 1922 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "First or last", op. 235 no. 3, published 1997 [ SATB chorus, treble recorder, and violoncello ], from Four Songs to poems by Thomas Hardy, no. 3, West Yorkshire : Peacock Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Sheldon , "First or last", 1925 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donald Waxman (b. 1925), "First or last", published 1960 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Eight songs : for a cappella chorus from poems of Thomas Hardy, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 58